Know your rights if your vote is challenged – a civil rights attorney explains

+ abortion and midterm turnout; Christian nationalism explained US Edition - Today's top story: What to do if your vote is challenged on Election Day [View in browser]( US Edition | 3 November 2022 [The Conversation]( Things have gotten pretty intense for us on the politics desk in this week before the midterm election. We’ve churned out – er, commissioned, edited and published – a huge number of election-related stories for you this week, ranging from a [data-based analysis of how abortion has diminished]( since this spring as a motivating factor for many voters to [the influence that voter anger has on election turnout](. There’s one story this week that stands apart from our typical analytical essay type of coverage. We know that Trump ally Steve Bannon and the GOP have been encouraging and, in some cases, training citizen activists to observe and even challenge voters and voting procedures in polling places across the nation. That could make it hard, or even impossible, for some people to vote. So we found a scholar, Karen Figueroa-Clewett at the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, to write a [step-by-step guide for what to do if your vote is challenged](. You’ll need to advocate for yourself, writes Figueroa-Clewett, a civil rights attorney. She says “a major part of ensuring that you are able to vote is doing the necessary preparation before you even get to the polling place.” To me, as a reporter and editor who got into journalism because of its crucial role in a democracy, this story feels about as pure an expression of public service journalism as we could publish. Print it out, put it in your pocket and head off to vote, if you haven’t already! Some other highlights from our midterm election coverage: - [Celebrity politicians are pushing the limits of what’s acceptable]( - [Not voting is not ethical]( - [Armed people at voting sites raise concerns over intimidation]( Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Society You need to be prepared so you can vote on Election Day. AP Photo/Charles Krupa [What to do if your vote is challenged on Election Day]( Karen Figueroa-Clewett, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences It’s Election Day, you go to vote – and you’re told you’re not registered or you’re not eligible to vote. A civil rights lawyer provides a guide so voters can know their rights to cast a ballot. Amy Cox, a Democratic candidate running to be an Ohio state representative, speaks with a potential voter on Oct. 23, 2022. Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images [Abortion is not influencing most voters as the midterms approach – economic issues are predominating in new survey]( Matthew A Baum, Harvard Kennedy School; Alauna Safarpour, Harvard Kennedy School; Jonathan Schulman, Northwestern University; Kristin Lunz Trujillo, Harvard Kennedy School New surveys carried out by a team of social scientists find no evidence that Democrats, Republicans and independents are more likely to vote because of the Supreme Court’s abortion decision in June. A member of the National Guard patrols the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2021. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images [Political violence in America isn’t going away anytime soon]( Richard Forno, University of Maryland, Baltimore County The rise in contemporary right-wing political extremism – and violence – can be traced back to events in the 1990s. [Talk of ‘Christian nationalism’ is getting a lot louder – but what does the term really mean?]( Eric McDaniel, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts Christian nationalist ideas are about more than simply being religious and patriotic. They form a worldview about how the nation should be structured and who belongs there. [A new wave of celebrity politicians breaks the rules on acceptable behavior, inspired by Trump]( Donna M Goldstein, University of Colorado Boulder; Kristen Drybread, University of Colorado Boulder GOP candidates Kari Lake, Herschel Walker and Dr. Mehmet Oz have caught people’s attention for outlandish stunts and false statements that are increasingly accepted in politics. [Why there really is no ethical reason not to vote]( Scott Davidson, West Virginia University ‘I don’t like the candidates,’ ‘I don’t know enough to make a decision,’ ‘I don’t want to give this election legitimacy’ – an ethicist takes on nonvoters. [How to ensure election integrity and accuracy – 3 essential reads]( Jeff Inglis, The Conversation Amid discussion of how best to conduct and tally a hotly contested election that is potentially subject to nefarious meddling, three experts explain the basics. [Guns at voting sites have long sparked fears of intimidation and violence – yet few states ban their presence]( Robert Spitzer, State University of New York College at Cortland Election-related violence isn’t unheard of in the US. A scholar of gun laws explains how the threat is only increased by allowing people to carry firearms as they vote. [The GOP made gains among Latino voters in 2020 but Democrats remain the party of choice for upcoming midterms]( Mary Lehman Held, University of Tennessee The complexity of the Latino community needs to be understood in order for the US’ second largest ethnic group to be adequately represented in our democracy. - [How a 2013 US Supreme Court ruling enabled states to enact election laws without federal approval]( Joshua F.J. Inwood, Penn State; Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee In the Shelby v. Holder decision, a key section of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act was eliminated, thus enabling states with histories of racial discrimination to enact new voting laws. - [American voters are angry – that is a good thing for voter turnout, bad thing for democracy]( Steven Webster, Indiana University Americans voters are angry about everything from abortion to inflation. While anger is good for voter turnout, it’s ultimately bad for solving problems in a democracy. - [Loss and damage: Who is responsible when climate change harms the world’s poorest countries, and what does compensation look like?]( Bethany Tietjen, Tufts University That’s the big question at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP27, and it’s controversial. - [Conservative US Supreme Court reconsidering affirmative action, leaving the use of race in college admissions on the brink of extinction]( Travis Knoll, University of North Carolina – Charlotte The US Supreme Court is poised to determine the fate of the use of race in college admissions. Supporters of affirmative action, like the military, fear the worst. - [A brief history of the mortgage, from its roots in ancient Rome to the English ‘dead pledge’ and its rebirth in America]( Michael J. Highfield, Mississippi State University With 30-year fixed rates hitting a 20-year high of 7%, a finance scholar explains where these life-altering loans originated. Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Weekly Highlights]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](